History, Opinions, Imaginings

Packers Top Rookie: 1984

Forrest Gregg took over from Bart Starr in 1984 and sought to shake things up in Green Bay. Nine of his ten draft picks made the team, as did eight undrafted free agents, for a total of 17 rookies in his first season. The trouble was, while a few were decent players, none were stars.

Gregg’s first round pick of Florida State defensive end Alphonso Carreker was a major disappointment as the 12th overall pick. He would be a five-year starter in Green Bay, but was never an impact player. Gregg then picked Auburn defensive tackle Donnie Humphrey in round three, Connecticut linebacker John Dorsey in round four, Pittsburgh safety Tom Flynn in round five, Wisconsin quarterback Randy Wright in round six, Georgia defensive back Daryll Jones in round seven, Santa Clara tackle Gary Hoffman in round 10, Texas Arlington center Mark Cannon in round 11 and Tennessee wide receiver Lenny Taylor in round 12.

Undrafted free agents included kicker Al Del Greco and tight end Ed West from Auburn; defensive backs Gary Hayes from Fresno State and Mike MacLeod from Montana State; nose tackles Charles Martin from West Alabama and Tony Deluca from Rhode Island; tackle Boyd Jones from Texas Southern and runner Ray Crouse from UNLV.

Long-term, there wasn’t much here for the Packers. Del Greco would develop elsewhere into a fine kicker who scored over 1,500 points in the NFL. Ed West had a long career as a reliable backup tight end, and Dorsey was a solid special teams player and an asset to the front office for many years after his career ended. Cannon was a decent center, and Humphrey started for a couple years. Charles Martin is infamous for his cheap shot on Jim McMahon. Randy Wright is better left undiscussed. That leaves us with Tom Flynn, a slowish, free safety who picked off nine passes as a rookie…and then two more the rest of his NFL career; he was the Packers’ top rookie in 1984.

As a parenthetical note, in 1984 the NFL also ran a supplemental draft of undrafted player who had signed with the USFL. Gregg struck out there, too. His three picks – Buford Jordan, Chuck Clanton and John Sullivan – would play a total of nine games in Green and Gold.